celebrity radar - gossips
How i got appointed as the special adviser to the president on media and publicity – Femi Adeshina
In this interview with SAHARA TV monitored by ENIOLA
AKINKUOTU, the newly appointed Special Adviser to the
President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who
is also the immediate past Managing Director of The SUN
and President of the Nigeria Guild of Editors, speaks
about his appointment
Are you excited about your appointment?
– Well, it is a call to service and one should be thankful
when called to serve one’s country.
With this appointment will you be switching sides that is,
from scrutinising the government to defending the
government?
– Let me first of all examine what you said, that I will
switch sides from scrutinising to defending the
government. No. The scrutinising part will still be part of
my duty. Before I can speak for the government, I must
first scrutinise the decisions and the policies and then
make an input before I can then defend. So, it is not a
total switch. There must still be a lot of scrutinising
because anything I am going to defend, I have got to be
able to understand it, agree with it and see the rationale
behind it before I can defend it. So, it is not a total
switch.
So, what if you do not agree with a policy? How will you
approach it?
– If I don’t agree with a policy, I will first ask for an
explanation and when I am given the explanation, I will
make my input. But then, my input does not have to
override what may be in the public interest or what is in
the interest of the larger number of people. My opinion
might not necessarily be the correct one. So, when such
challenges come, you have to weigh it and say, is it in
the larger interest of the people, is it in the interest of the
country? Will it eventually result in a better standard of
living for the people? That is the way to look at it. It
doesn’t have to be something I must agree with all the
time. I should be able to appraise the decisions that have
been made and seek to understand them and then make
my contribution as necessary.
There are reports that you know President Muhammadu
Buhari very closely. What is your relationship with him?
– I will say yes. The President is somebody that I have
admired for a long time since he was a military ruler.
When he was a military ruler, I was already in my third
year in the university. So, I can say I knew him and his
style and I liked it. I felt sorry when his government was
overthrown. So, when he came back into partisan politics
in 2003, it was something that was very exciting for me
and since then, I have been supporting him. I am a
journalist and I write a weekly column. I have been
pointing Nigerians in his direction since 2003. And
whenever I wrote anything in his (Buhari’s) support, he
would call me on the phone and we would discuss and he
would thank me. I remember in 2009 or thereabout when
Prof. Tam David-West wrote a book on Buhari and it was
to be presented at the Nigerian Institute of International
Affairs. I was the master of ceremony of the occasion so
we got to speak and know each other better. That was the
first time I would meet him (Buhari) in person. Thereafter,
he ran for President in 2011 and I still wrote in my column
that I thought he was the best person to rule Nigeria and
bring a change. Whenever I wrote those things, he would
call me and he would thank me and we would talk.
So, eventually, in August 2013, I lost my mother and we
needed to do her funeral. So, I sent Buhari an invitation
card. The service was in Lagos and lo and behold, before
the service started, he drove in. It was a pleasant
surprise. It was a Christian service and he sat through it.
Those who had said that he was a religious bigot were
shocked. This was a Muslim man that came for a
Christian service and attended the full service and yet
they were saying he was a religious bigot. So, that act
cemented our relationship because after the event, I
phoned him the next day and thanked him but he said he
was the one that should be grateful because he had never
given me a kobo and yet I always gave him all the
support. He said there were people that could pay me
millions of naira for such support but I had decided to
pitch my tent with somebody that could not give me
anything. So, that cemented our relationship.
You know, in 2011, he said he would not contest the
Presidency again but in the run up to the 2015 election, I
felt he should still run and I wrote that the fact that he
said in 2011 that he would not run again could not be
carved in concrete and he could change his mind if he
wanted and the rest, they say, is history. He changed his
mind, he ran and he won. Significantly, on the night that
he was declared the winner, my phone rang around
midnight and one of our leaders in the media called and
said, ‘Please hold on for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’. I was
shocked and when he spoke to me, he said he
appreciated my support throughout the campaigns and
now that victory had come his way, he just wanted to say
thank you. So, that was how it played out.
How did you get the appointment? Did he call you or were
you interviewed?
After he had been declared winner and after he had called
me on the telephone, I deliberately stayed away from him
for two reasons. The first was because I knew he would
be under a lot of pressure. A lot of people would be
calling to congratulate him and probably seeking one
thing or the other. So, I think from that night, which was
March 31, I deliberately stayed away from him because I
did not want to add to the pressure that would be on him
and secondly, I didn’t want it to be that I was seeking a
position in his government. I am a born again Christian
and I want anything that happens or comes my way to be
what God has ordained. I don’t push anything; I don’t
lobby for anything so I kept my distance from him. But
then, people around him kept talking to me and kept
telling me that they believed I was the best person to be
the spokesman for the incoming President. However, I did
not give any commitment for two reasons. The first, as I
said earlier, was that I didn’t want to lobby and secondly,
I have a job that I enjoy doing: Managing Director/Editor-
in-Chief of one of the leading newspapers in the country,
The Sun, and then I was also the President of the Nigeria
Guild of Editors. Those are high calibre jobs and
responsibilities. So, I wasn’t looking for a job but then
people around me kept talking to me till eventually, there
was some sort of interview but I would not say it was a
direct interview but people singled me out to say, ‘Well, if
you are invited to serve in government, will you serve?’.
My conviction had always been that I would never serve
in a government except one headed by Muhammadu
Buhari. So, when they singled me out, I told them I didn’t
think I wanted to serve in the government but since it is
Muhammadu Buhari, I will consider it. But I also
reminded them that I also have a job and I have to consult
with my publisher (Orji Uzor Kalu) and I have to seek his
blessings. Reluctantly too, my publisher gave his
blessings. He told me that they would not know the
sacrifice he had made by letting me go but since it is a
service to the country, I have his blessings. So, I got back
to them and told them yes, that I had sought my
publisher’s blessing and the next I heard was the
announcement that I had been appointed Special Adviser
on Media and Publicity.
You will be going into the job in a changing media
landscape. You will grapple with the social media and the
traditional media. How do you hope to navigate these two
worlds?
I would rather refer to the social media as digital media
because the social media is just a variant of the digital
media. Nobody can do anything successfully in the media
today without factoring in the digital media. The social
media, the digital media and every other thing will be
used together. You would have seen the role they played
in the campaigns. You could feel the pulse of the
electorate and could already discern the direction the
election would follow by merely following the digital
media, particularly the social aspect of that digital media.
It played a major role in the campaigns and there is no
way you are going to ignore it. The traditional media has
its place because there are people who are still glued to
it. But the younger generation uses the digital media so
you then need to use all the avenues to reach the people.
So far, what do the media headlines regarding Buhari’s
administration say to you about what you are going to be
dealing with on the job?
I will tell you it is no tea party. It is going to be a hectic
work but then it is going to be me working for somebody
that I believe in. So, I guess I will have to throw my all
into it. I am under no illusion that the job is going to be
easy or a picnic. It will not be. But I will throw my all into
it and as long as my principal remains who he is:
straight, accountable, focused and someone who wants
to effect a change in the country, I guess we will get it
done. When you have a good product, the marketing is
easier.
Have you spoken with previous government spokesmen
like Mr. Reuben Abati and Mr. Segun Adeniyi?
I have spoken with Segun Adeniyi (the late President
Umaru Yar’adua’s spokesman); I have spoken with Ima
Niboro who was former President Goodluck Jonathan’s
first spokesman; but I have not spoken to Reuben Abati.
What advice did they give you?
They gave me an insight into how to do the job
successfully. I have spoken with Segun more than once
but I have spoken with Ima Niboro just once. I will meet
with Segun again and we will talk.
TINUBU IS THE WISEST MAN EARTH -PROPHET IKURU.
by Collins Nkwocha
Nigerian prophet, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos magnetized everyone’s attention when he referred to the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the wisest man on earth regarding the appointment of Daniel Bwala as special Adviser on policy communications.
Speaking to reporters today in Lagos,
Prophet Ikuru applauded the president for choosing him and enunciated that he’s capable of delivering effectively and marketing the Renewed Hope Agenda of the president and urged Nigerians to stop the criticism because of what he said in the past “I’m personally happy with his appointment and I urge Nigerians to forget about the past, forget about what he must have said about the president some years ago which people are now disseminating on the social and taunting him a betrayal that lacks integrity, Nigerians should forget his past because he’s the best choice”.
Prophet Ikuru insisted that Bwala saw the sincerity and genuity of the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda and he decided to partake in it “even if he criticized the president, it was in the past, he saw the sincerity in the Renewed Hope Agenda and decided to join in nation building ,the president is ready to unite everyone in order to build Nigeria,that’s why someone like Wike is in his government,Bwala has what it’s required to be successful under Mr.president, as a wise man, the president saw it and decided to harness it ”
Finally, he praised Tinubu and referred to him as a great leader who is ready to involve everyone in his government, he maintained that his wisdom is magnanimous ,Baba is truly the wisest man on earth.
U.S. Courtroom Shock: Funke Ashekun, Husband Collapse as MFM Wins
Had FFK Faced Mehdi Hassan, Nigeria Would Have Spoken With Fire
By Mohammed Bello Doka
In politics, timing is everything. In diplomacy, character is everything. And in moments of national importance, leadership must be entrusted to individuals who possess not only experience but courage, intellect and an unshakable commitment to the nation they represent.
It is for this reason that the appointment of Chief Femi Fani-Kayode as Nigeria’s Ambassador to a foreign nation stands out as one of the most consequential diplomatic decisions in recent years.
Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, better known in the South as “FFK” and in the North as “Sadauki”, is one of the most brilliant, experienced, accomplished, vocal, respected, educated, profound, intellectual, patriotic, disciplined, well-read, historically literate, versatile, forceful, persuasive, sophisticated, cosmopolitan, charming, eloquent, courageous and resilient men in Nigerian politics and he has paid his dues and proved his worth over the last 35 years in politics and political discourse.
In each role he has played he has excelled and succeeded even when he was in opposition.
His friends value him as a great and loyal defender and his traducers and political adversaries fear and respect him because when he goes to war he is utterly relentless, takes no prisoners and literally spits fire.
How I wish it was him that was interviewed by Mehdi Hassan of Al Jazeera and not the young and inexperienced Daniel Bwala because he would have not only humbled Hassan but also done Nigeria proud.
He played Bwala’s present role in the Presidential Villa 23 years ago as President Olusegun Obasanjo’s spokesman and not only brought the then President’s domestic enemies to their knees but also had a series of very hot exchanges with foreign Government officials like America’s Under-Secreatary of State for Africa Jendaye Fraser and the White House over the Charles Taylor issue and Liberia.
Tinubu decision to appoint him as an Ambassador for our nation was a wise one because he will fight for and protect the interests of Nigeria and the Nigerian community whetever he goes and will never sell his soul or bow to foreign imperialist interests.
His appointment is not about just rewarding loyalty for the key role he played in Tinubu’s presidentiel campaign organisation as Director of New Media and Special Operations in 2023 and the staunch support he has given the President over the last three years but also about putting a square peg in a square hole.
If you want to put Nigeria first Sadauki is the one to do it.
If he runs the Nigerian Mission in the country that he is sent to in the same way he ran the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Aviation when he was Minister to each of them one after the other twenty years ago he will do very well and both our nation and whichever nation he is posted to itself will benefit from his efforts.
History teaches that diplomacy is most effective when nations deploy individuals who possess both intellect and courage.
As the American statesman Henry Kissinger once noted, “Diplomacy is the art of restraining power.”
To do so successfully requires deep historical awareness and strategic clarity—qualities that have long defined Fani-Kayode’s political career.
Sending a politically seasoned voice like FFK to any nation that is a key partner to Nigeria signals that Bola Ahmed Tinubu intends to strengthen Nigeria’s diplomatic posture with confidence.
Throughout more than three decades in the political arena, Fani-Kayode has remained one of the most resilient and outspoken figures in Nigerian public life despite numerous challenges which would have broken and destroyed lesser men.
Regardless of all that was thrown at him he continues to pull through and come out victorious which is why many refer to him as the “Akanda Eledumare” and the “Ayanfe Oluwa” which mean “the strange one of God” and “the beloved of the Lord”.
There appears to be a divine dimension to his life that makes him unstoppable and irrepressible even though his enemies are legion.
One wonders what sets him apart and makes him so different.
There is no doubt that his education played a part in it and this set him apart from most.
He never went to school in Nigeria but was educated from the age of eight in England starting off at Holmewood House School in Kent, one of the UK’s best and most famous Preparatory schools, after which he attended the famous Harrow School just outside London which is, together with Eton College, an institution that is the exclusive preserve of high society in the UK, one of the two best private schools in that country where only the ruling elite, the rich, the well-to-do, the famous and only a tiny proportion of those in British high society can afford or even qualify to attend.
No less than eight British Prime Ministers, including the great Sir Winston Churchill, and countless British cabinet ministers attended Harrow and so did many leaders, diplomats and top politicians from many foreign countries.
After finishing at Harrow he attended some of the top universities in the world, including London University (SOAS) and Cambridge University (Pembroke College) where he did so well.
As a matter of fact his great grandfather, Rev. Emmanuel Adelabi Kayode, attended Furrough Bay College which at that time was part of Durham University and graduated with an MA (Hons.) in Theology in 1893. His grandfather Justice Adedapo Kayode attended Cambridge University (Selwyn College) where he studied law and graduated in 1922. His father Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode attended Cambridge University (Downing College) where he studied law and graduated in 1943. Sadauki himself graduated in law at Cambridge University (Pembroke College) in 1984 whilst his daughter Folake Fani-Kayode graduated from Durham University in 2009.
No African family has an uninterrupted streak of 116 years of Oxbridge-level university graduates except for the Fani-Kayode’s which is something that both his family and every patriotic Nigerian should be proud of.
It therefore makes perfect sense that a man from such a distinguished pedigree and intimidating lineage and that has such an extraordinary intellectual heritage should represent Nigeria on the international stage.
There is also his role in the debate on Gaza which made him a hero in the eyes of millions of people in the Global South both amongst Christians and Muslims.
He spoke out consistently about what he described as the genocide being committed against the Palestinians and he was prepared to put his life and career on the line for this cause even though most Nigerian leaders and politicians refused to say what he was saying publicly out of fear of the Zionist lobby and the Jewish state.
His sense of patriotism is unquestionable and nothing reflects this better than his series of essays written against Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the British Opposition Conservative Party and his write up against one Ben Llewelyn-Jones, who at that time was the Deputy British High Commissioner to Nigeria, when the former consistently sought to insult and denigrate Nigeria and the Nigerian people and the latter attempted to interfere in our internal affairs by making statements in support of Peter Obi and his Obidients in the 2023 presidential elections.
Sadauki successfully put them both in their place and when American Senator Ted Cruz, President Donald Trump, Congressman Tim Riley and other American politicians began to peddle the false narrative and fake gospel of Christian genocide and persecution in Nigeria Sadauki, a devout Christian himself, rose to the challenge and more than any other Nigerian wrote about the issue in a series of essays pointing out the fact that as many Muslims were being killed as Christians by the terrorists in our country and that Christians were not being persecuted by our Government and are in fact faring better when it comes to positions in the security apparatus and governance under Tinubu than they did in the previous administration.
He also spoke out boldly against President Trump and his administration when they accused the Government of South Africa of indulging in genocide against the white minority population in their country and pointed out the fact that South Africa, like Brazil, was a shining example of a successful multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural nation that was treating its white minority population with the greatest respect. Few Africans said a word to defend South Africa at the time even though they knew that Trump was wrong but Sadauki did so without thinking twice.
He is clearly a strong Pan-Africanist and a believer in the importance of the African Union, African solidarity, the BRICS coalition and the Global South alliance comprising of China, Russia, South Africa, India, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other emerging world powers.
This is commendable and it reflects his courage and disdain for those that display ignorance, disdain and contempt for our nation and people and that seek to denigrate and misrepresent us.
Sadauki is not the type that bows and quivers before Westerners like so many other Nigerian leaders and politicians but rather takes pride in his Nigerian culture, race, heritage and identity and is prepared to defend us and speak for us no matter whose ox is gored and who is involved.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Nigeria requires diplomats capable not only of negotiation but also of defending national interests with conviction.
If the energy, eloquence and intellectual fire that have defined Fani-Kayode’s political life accompany him to the country to which he has been posted, his tenure may well become one of the most consequential chapters in Nigeria’s modern diplomatic engagements.
I wish him well and I thank God that he is back in the saddle of public office after so many years.
What more could any of us ask of this great and noble son of Nigeria?
This is undoubtedly the quality of personnel and leaders that we need on the international stage.
I hope and pray that in his endeavours and during the course of his work he meets with Mehdi Hassan in a debate and prove to him and the rest of the world that Nigeria still has men that can not only match them but that can also remove their trousers in any verbal encounter. Bwala put us to shame but FFK can redeem us before the eyes of the world.
(Mohammed Bello Doka, the author of this essay, is the publisher of Abuja Network News and can be reached via [email protected])
-
society6 months agoReligion: Africa’s Oldest Weapon of Enslavement and the Forgotten Truth
-
news3 months agoWHO REALLY OWNS MONIEPOINT? The $290 Million Deal That Sold Nigeria’s Top Fintech to Foreign Interests
-
society6 months ago“You Are Never Without Help” – Pastor Gebhardt Berndt Inspires Hope Through Empower Church (Video)
-
Business7 months agoGTCO increases GTBank’s Paid-Up Capital to ₦504 Billion
You must be logged in to post a comment Login